The Road Less Travelled
by Just An Inkling
Summary: What if, when you die, you get a second shot at what you let go of the first time? Snapecentric, Snape/Lily. With a splash of idiot!Draco, for fun.
1. Chapter 1

So, the ever-wonderful Provider of HP Fanart *lily-fox on deviantART did this comic, featuring our beloved Severus Snape, who gets something of a do-over. When he dies in the shack (yes I _know_ it's different in the movie, get off me), he wakes up in bed, at home, with his daughter telling him that Mummy says pancakes are ready. And the idea of Snape getting a second chance at happiness was such an appealing one to me, as I had just bawled my way through 76% of the final Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, that I had to write a spin-off. And lo, we have this monster.

It will be longer. Much longer. Stay tuned.

**Disclaimer:** The idea belongs to lily-fox on dA. The characters belong, for the most part, to JK Rowling, may she ever live in glory for her work of literary giantism. Evelynn is a joint creation of lily-fox and myself. This, fortunately or unfortunately, is mine.

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><p><strong>The Road Less Traveled<strong>

_Prologue_

Severus felt Harry push himself up off the rotted floor boards. His wand lay several inches out of his reach, his fingers to weak to move to grasp blood pumping out through the puncture wound in his neck was painful, but growing ever less persistent. The knowledge that he was dying was frustrating, in a distant way.

"Goodbye, Professor," he heard Harry mutter as he moved to exit the shack, the floorboards creaking terribly as he walked over them. Severus wanted to admonish him not to screw this up with his Gryffindor sensibilities, but he couldn't find the strength to open his mouth for more than a gasp of the dusty air.

The door creaked, and slammed. His spine felt the floor melt away, and suddenly, nothing mattered anymore.

-x-x-x-

Something small was sitting next to him. The harsh floorboards had been replaced by soft cushioning, and the dusty, damp scent of rotting wood had been replaced by the smell of apples and cinnamon and baked goods and something vaguely floral. He blinked sleepily, a small girl fading into clarity. She smiled, and irrationally, he felt his heart swell with happiness.

"Hi, Daddy," she giggled as he stretched out a hand to her. "Are you awake?"

"Mmm, yeah," he said, his fingers meeting her soft red hair. It felt familiar, somehow.

"Mummy says pancakes are ready," she said, nuzzling into his palm.

"Tell her I'm coming," he said, pushing himself vertical. She nodded and scampered off, her nightgown swishing around her tiny, stout legs. Severus looked around curiously, examining the bedroom he'd woken up in. Everything seemed familiar, in a way he couldn't explain-the chair in the corner felt like a compromise, the bookshelf filled with everything from Franz Kafka to Alberta Grubbs, a potions master in Scotland who had been a Hufflepuff third year when he graduated, drew a swell of pride and contentment from his chest. Nothing felt threatening, and the smell of the promised pancakes reminded him of his empty stomach. He slid his legs from under the blanket and stood, his bare feet curling on the hardwood floors.

The stairs were wider than his home at Spinner's End, lit by several electric wall sconces as he descended. The girl from earlier was chattering happily in the kitchen, and a woman laughed. He paused-that laugh. One he'd recognize anywhere. "Lily," he breathed.

"Morning, Sev," she said, looking to the stairs with a smile. "Apple cinnamon pancakes-your favorite. C'mon, they're not getting any warmer with you standing there."

"I must be dreaming," he murmured, stepping into the kitchen slowly.

Lily laughed again and kissed his cheek. "No, but you're sweet to say so. Here, there's butter in the fridge." She pressed a hot plate of pancakes into his hand and turned back to the stove top to ladle out the remaining pancake batter. "Your apprentice sent an owl this morning, by the way. Something about the shop exploding and he's going on vacation with his mother?"

"Mm, convenient," Severus grumbled without thinking, a familiar irritation sparking at the news. "I wish I could fire him, but alas. His father loaned me start-up money I have yet to live down."

"The gift that keeps on giving," Lily chuckled. "Why can't you just tell Lucius to go use his defunct family name elsewhere? You are trying to run a business, Severus."

"Because Draco has potential, if he would just get his head out of his... Evvy, don't play with your food, sweetheart."

"Daddy's right, it's going to get soggy if you don't eat it quick."

"But I like 'em soggy," the girl Severus somehow knew as Evelynn protested, pushing her pancakes around in a lake of syrup.

"You know, Lily, I think I heard about something similar..." Severus remarked casually to Lily, slicing an edge off his own stack. "Oh! It was in the Daily Prophet a few days ago. A boy from a Muggle suburb was playing with his pancakes, and he kept poking at them to make them soggier, and they transformed into a Scottish pancake troll and ate him. There was nothing anyone could do once he'd aggravated the thing, it was tragic, really."

Evelynn dropped her fork with a terrified expression, staring at her pancakes. "Really?"

"Mm. Really."

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, not really, sweetheart. Your daddy is being stupid."

"Like when he told me that there's a goblin hiding in my wardrobe?"

"Yes, exactly like that."

"Hey, I know what I saw," Severus said with mock defensiveness.

"You know, Severus, most fathers spend their time telling their daughters that there aren't any monsters in their rooms, not creating them."

Severus grinned, the expression moving onto his face before he was fully aware of what was happening, and kissed her on the cheek after taking a quick peek at the clock on the wall. "Well. Regardless of my poor parenting skills, I need to get to work at some point today. Especially if my beloved apprentice has fled the country with his mother."

Lily smiled fondly and ran a hand through his shoulder length hair. "Go, remedy whatever mess Draco has left for you. I'll bring Evvy around for lunch?"

Severus had already moved to the table, leaning down to plant a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "I would love that, dear."

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	2. Chapter 2

Oh, look! Another chapter! Here, everyone, enjoy. Chef's compliments.

**Disclaimer:** The idea belongs to lily-fox on dA. The characters belong, for the most part, to JK Rowling, may she ever live in glory for her work of literary giantism. Evelynn is a joint creation of lily-fox and myself. This, fortunately or unfortunately, is mine.

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><p><strong>The Road Less Traveled<strong>

_Chapter One_

Severus was enormously gratified to see his shop still standing and even mostly presentable, given Draco's track record of all the times he had sent an owl with a note beginning in the words "There was a bit of an accident..." Fresh from Hogwarts graduation, Draco showed minute traces of competence, perhaps even promise, but if he refused to stop ogling every visually appealing male that walked by the shop-especially while a delicate potion was in the cauldron-all the promise and competence in the world would mean nothing to either of them. The stress would kill them both, by way of murder-suicide.

"Good morning," he called into the shop as he walked in, finding the door unlocked.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Snape! I thought I'd come in early and get a head start on re-labeling these bottles. The ink is so faded, you can barely tell what they are!"

Severus hung up his cloak and raised a skeptical eyebrow at the disembodied voice. "Miss Weasley, I do not pay unsolicited overtime."

"Oh, no, I'm not looking for overtime, I just thought-" She sighed deeply and stepped out of the back room, red hair tied back into a girlish ponytail and a bottle of Welsh Green dragon's blood in one hand. "I needed to get out of the house. I hope that's okay."

"As long as you aren't asking me to pay you to get away from your mother, I have no complaints," Severus said, rolling up his sleeves and unhooking an apron from a hook just inside the back room door. "Now then, what god-awful mess has my apprentice left for me today?"

"A sleeping potion turned into a pretty even paint job by way of explosion? Draco attempted to clean some of it up, but the cauldron he was using was totally wrecked and I'll have to pull everything off the shelves to wipe them down, and_ Merlin_ that boy can't mop a floor to save his-"

"Miss Weasley."

The redhead smiled and returned to the shelf on the other side of the room, muttering "accio quill" under her breath. "How's Evelynn this morning?"

"Nearly convinced that if she keeps poking her pancakes, they're going to turn into a Scottish pancake troll and devour her on the spot."

Ginny laughed. "You're terrible."

"You're expendable," he reminded her.

"You're hopeless, especially with Draco to worry about."

"Touche."

"How's Lily?"

"Good. She's bringing Evelynn by for lunch."

Ginny grinned. "Oh, really? You know, if you and Lily wanted to go just the two of you, I'd be more than happy to watch Evelynn for you."

Severus smiled at her enthusiasm for the idea. "I'll talk to Lily about it when she gets here. In the mean time, I want you out by the register when we open. This can be drawn out a few days."

"Sure." Ginny considered a blue-ish bottle, trying to discern what the label said. "Apparently, Draco's mother is taking him to the Acropolis."

"Oh, to have money to go flitting around the globe at the drop of a hat."

"Stupid Malfoys," she muttered, finishing the new label with an annoyed flourish. "One day, I'm going to publish a book. And when I do, I'm taking every cent I make and moving as far away from England as I can possibly find myself. Maybe Bulgaria. They have a good Quidditch team, at least."

"Ah, you and your Quidditch fanaticism. Aren't they the team with that Seeker, Viktor Whoever?"

"Krum," Ginny supplied helpfully. "And yes, they were at least. He won't be playing for the rest of the season, he injured his arm during practice a few weeks ago. Pretty badly, too."

"Pity," Severus said without much feeling. He'd never much cared for the game-he understood it, and he'd even watch it with Lily on occasion, but it harbored too many associations with certain schoolboy rivalries that he preferred remain in the past. "Miss Weasley, the register, if you please. We open in ten minutes."

"Right, sure." Ginny stuck the new label over the old one and replaced it on the shelf, grabbing her apron on her way out of the back room.

-x-x-x-

"Good evening, Mr. Snape," Ginny called behind him as he made his way out of the shop. "See you tomorrow."

"Good evening, Miss Weasley," he replied, adjusting the collar of his coat over the back of his neck. "Tell your father I said hello."

"I'll be sure to," she said, locking the register and sliding the bag of currency into the expanded pocket of her robe. "Give Lily and Evelynn my best."

Severus smiled. "Absolutely."

Ginny watched him leave before grabbing her bag off the hook in the back room and surveying the semi-ordered scene that had been in chaos that morning. She still had to wipe down the shelves, and there was one spot back behind the table that she couldn't quite reach with the mop, but for the most part, Draco's catastrophic potions failure had been wiped from the room with only minor scorch marks to prove it had been at all. "I didn't do too bad," she muttered to herself, only a tad bit smug.

_To Gringotts, and then Mungo's to check on Fred, and then... Eugh. I hope Mum didn't invite anyone over for dinner tonight. I just want to hole up in my room with my summer homework and a plate of pie. Polite conversation, too stressful._ She locked the door behind her and walked down the street at a brisk pace. Knockturn Alley was only a few steps in the other direction, and the more distance she put between herself and the potential for violence after dark, the better.

She aimlessly hummed a tune she'd heard on the radio at home that morning as she walked, passing the wand shop with a cheery wave to Ollivander through his window as he locked up and slowing a little to stare longingly at a lovely pale blue silk robe in the tailor's window. _Even if Mum did invite company, I'm just going to ignore them,_ she decided. _Social graces be damned, I'm seventeen already, I can do what I like. _Ginny passed the small alley between the bookstore and the pet shop, glancing in out of habit. She used to meet her boyfriend there during the summers, when she was feeling angry and rebellious of both her mother's overbearing standards and her brother's suffocating protective streaks. Being the only girl had definite disadvantages.

The distinctive pop of apparition met her ears as she passed by the alley. Curious, she slowed to a stop and backed up a few steps, wondering who had apparated into an empty alley at this time of night. Something she'd expect in Knockturn Alley, but certainly not this far into Diagon Alley. "Hello," she called hesitantly when no one moved in the alley for a minute.

A weak groan staggered drunkenly to her ears, sounding vaguely like the word _help_ but she couldn't be entirely sure. "Are... Are you alright," she called uncertainly, looking up and down the street for potential back-up before taking a step into the alley.

"Help," the voice muttered again, sounding groggy and attempting urgency. "Help, please..."

She knelt next to the shape on the ground slowly, one hand stretching out to carefully roll the mass of bloody clothing and what could be actual _human_ over to a more visible position. "Um, sir?"

"You... You have to help... He's..."

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